14 Bi'ltish Fungi. 



portion, tlie vegetative part being as primitive in the 

 Agancini or gill-bearing fungi as in the earliest 

 kuovni aloral-like fan2"i. 



The various types of sporopliore, along with the 

 terms used in connection therewith^ will be described 

 under the various sections. 



In the more highly differentiated types of sporo- 

 phore, laticiferous liyphse are frequently present, and 

 more especially in certain sections of the gill-bearing 

 funguses, where they form dense, anastomosing wefts 

 in the tissues of stem, p ileus or cap, and lamellse or gills. 

 These laticiferous hyphse originate as lateral branches 

 from the ordinary liyph^e of the sporophore when the 

 latter is very young, their walls remain very thin, and 

 transverse septa are present at firsl, but are eventually 

 absorbed, at least this takes place in many species of 

 Lactarius, where laticiferous hyph^e are especially 

 numerous and well developed, although, in Lactarius 

 torminosus I liave not succeeded in findinor transverse 

 septa at any period of development. The latex, or 

 contents of laticiferous hyphse, consists of very fine 

 granules suspended in a watery fluid, and is generally 

 colourless while in the hypha?, but when liberated 

 and exposed to the air frequently changes colour at 

 once, becoming lilac in Lactarius uvidus, golden- 

 yellow in Lactarius chrysorrhasus, and reddish in 

 Lactarius acris ; however, in the majority of species the 

 latex is dense and white when liberated, and is often 

 described as '^ milk " by systematists. In Lactarius 

 deliciosus the latex becomes orange-red while yet con- 

 tained in the hyphee. In some species, as Lactarius 

 rvfus, the milk is intensely hot and pungent, the 



